Cavendish, P.E.I. – A P.E.I. restaurateur says for the first time he's considering staying closed for the upcoming summer season and not because business has been slow but because there aren't enough cooks for his kitchen. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Lethbridge, Alta. – A woman has been fired from her job after a video of a racially charged argument between her and what appears to be a group of four men in a Lethbridge, Alta., restaurant garnered strong reaction online. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Websites, Instagram and Facebook are often the first place people look for a business or service, and this is especially true in the case of restaurants. It’s important to invest the time and money needed to make your website the best it can be.

In every pizzeria there’s always a period when your sales are going to slump. For many of us it’s January and February – right after Christmas – when our customers get their credit card statements that remind them of the spend-happy ghost of Christmas past.

Do you make great pizza but struggle with how to market it on a limited budget? Are you looking for ways to win over new customers? Wondering how to encourage regular customers to enjoy more of your signature pizza? Join our "Pizza Chef" columnist Diana Cline for the webinar "5 Ways to Boost Your Pizzeria Sales."

Do you struggle with finding and attracting good employees? The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently hosted a webinar entitled “Getting smart about seasonal hiring” that provided useful tips for improving your chances of hiring great workers.

Paytronix Systems has added to its online ordering app new designed to give businesses more control over their mobile experience and to get their mobile apps up and running quickly and cost effectively.

Ardent Mills developed its new Primo Mulino Neapolitan-Style Pizza Mix for making authentic, thin pizza crusts in the tradition of Naples, Italy, where the famous pizza is hand-tossed and baked quickly in extremely high-heat gas or wood-burning ovens.

FoodPic is a photo-sharing social application available to both Android and iOS users. The app features include personal profile creation of both private and shared uploaded food photos from restaurants and home-made creations.

Looking for a quick solution to satisfying customers during all day parts? SpeeDelight is a new high-speed grill from Electrolux Professional designed with handy features to deliver a variety of tasty grab-and-go dishes three times faster than traditional sandwich presses.

Hobart designed its new Edge 13A automatic slicer for smaller operations that require less than four hours of meat and cheese slicing per day. It includes several features to ensure safety and cleanliness, Hobart said in a press release.

If the people who work for you are excited about being there, it has a positive impact on the strength of your brand. Experiences are delivered by people – and your people are your brand, so you should want them to be in a good place. It’s great in theory but how does it look in practice?

Montreal – McGill Pizza of Montreal has been a student favourite since it was founded in the 1960s, and chef and owner Costa Deligiannis is making sure it keeps its nostalgic appeal. The McGill Tribune reports. | READ MORE

We forget sometimes that pizza is fun. It’s a sentiment not lost on Chip Foster, the Canadian fashion designer known for his premium jeans beloved by the likes of Robin Wright, Sarah Jessica Parker and Beyonce.

The most successful small businesses share an important quality: they make themselves part of their communities. Entrepreneur magazine lists getting involved among its top 25 common characteristics of successful businesses and Forbes says those who succeed long term are often motivated not by profit but by being able to work where they live.

Regina – Among three different sets of owners, west Regina pizzeria Juliana Pizza has always had a Peter. Today, it’s Peter Yannitsos, who bought Juliana Pizza with his cousin-in-law Paul Howie back in September 2006. The Regina Leader-Post reports. | READ MORE

Bainbridge Island, WA – A small pizzeria near Seattle, Wash., says it's maintaining a genuine piece of Klondike Gold Rush history – a sourdough starter that has been alive about 120 years. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

This week's episode of Bakers Journal This Week marks the launch of a new three-part series on sourdough baking. Part 1 features Karl De Smedt, communication and training manager at Puratos, who shares some key aspects of sourdough’s fascinating nature. Our sister magazine, Bakers Journal reports. | READ MORE

Troy, OH – Hobart will give away a Legacy HL662 mixer designed on a craft beer theme at the International Pizza Expo and, in a separate online giveaway, an FP150 continuous-feed full hopper food processor.

Vancouver – Vancouver city council has voted to ban plastic straws and foam cups and takeout containers effective June 1, 2019 – six months earlier than initially proposed – making it the first municipality in Canada to ban the single-use disposable items. The Vancouver Sun/Canadian Press reports. | READ MORE

Toronto – A Toronto–based app connecting restaurants and bars to temporary workers will soon be expanding to the city's retail market, adding a new dimension to the growing gig economy — and raising questions about how to protect the workers who depend on it. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

Vancouver – Customers coming for the tasting menus at Vancouver's Cacao restaurant must pay upfront when booking online, the same way they would for a theatre performance, concert or hockey game. Will the trend catch on with diners? The Globe and Mail reports. | READ MORE

The International Pizza Expo, held March 19-22 in Las Vegas, Nev., proved a great place to learn what pizza makers around the world are doing, which trends can translate to money for your pizzeria and what products are out there to make your work easier.

Edmonton – Pizza 106 in Edmonton celebrated its one-year anniversary Friday by offering all pizzas for $4.20 – a nod to the annual cannabis celebration on April 20. The Edmonton Star reports. | READ MORE

Toronto – It seems meat alternatives are increasingly making their way onto plates across the country as new research from Mintel suggests that more than half of Canadians say they eat meat alternatives, including one in five who claim to eat them a few times a week.

Simcoe, Ont. – Starting this week, Canadian Pizza invites you to take our Weekly Operator Poll. Have your say and find out what the rest of the pizza industry thinks on a wide range of topics – from hiring practices to bestselling toppings.

Mississauga, Ont. – Nearly two-thirds of Canadians take “cheat days” or “cheat meals” as part of their diet, and half of them crave pizza as a cheat meal, according to a survey conducted by Maru/Matchbook on behalf of Boston Pizza.

Toronto – Digital foodservice orders are growing dramatically, and restaurants can take advantage of this trend by targetting customers aged 20-40, offering deals and focusing on lucrative online dinner traffic, suggests new research by NPD Group.